2018 Midterm Elections Powered by Audio

Oct
23,
2018
BY:Ryan Miller

Midterm elections are around the corner but there's still time to embrace the power of audio. Radio is seeing a comeback across all advertising, not just politics because it reaches everyone, everywhere. It’s at home in our smart speakers, in our cars on the way to work, on our phones when we're on-the-go. No matter your political affiliation, radio reaches 270+ million voters and influences them to go to the polls.

"I assumed something and I was totally wrong about it. I assumed that because I've really cut back on my radio listening in favor of music on Spotify, that everyone was doing the same thing. I was really wrong." - Scott McGrew, Host of NBC SF Bay Area's Press:Here

Do voters really listen to the radio?

Radio listenership is really strong— even millennials are listening. Katz Media Group worked with Veritonic to create a case study comparing the impact of television ads vs. radio spots. They polled the opinions of real swing voters and monitored how well both types of ads resonated with them and ultimately influenced their votes.

The research firm found that audio spots conveyed positive feelings to swing voters overall. More specifically, it was determined that the voters felt more inspired after listening to the audio spot than they did after watching the video ad.

Not only do voters listen to your political radio spots, but they are also more likely to trust them. Fake news on digital platforms has caused many Americans to feel weary about digitally sourced political ads. For example, according to Borrell Associates, there will bea 12.4% declinein the use of digital media for news due to negative press about Facebook.

"If you're trying to win a race in that market, you want to reach the demographic you're looking for. If you're trying to get the millennials out to vote for your candidate, 90% of millennials listen to the radio. If you're looking for an older demographic, a higher percentage of the older demographic listens to radio." - Michael Dougherty, CEO and Co-Founder at Jelli

Any election, whether presidential or midterm, is a chance for states to vote on ballot initiatives. Don't underestimate the impact that audio has to reach your constituents before November 6th.